HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
I am thankful for Nancy, Beth and Alisha! And faithful readers
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Last time:
Lois
That was a dangerous path and I knew it. I knew that if I let myself, I'd slip into a depression over the perceived rejection by my son – and the still real rejection on certain levels by my husband – even though I was on medication that helped most of the time. There was still a very real need for me to be on the look-out for what I'd taken to calling 'triggers' and avoid them.
The rejection – or perceived rejection – was one of those.
I made my way back through the house and wondered if Martha was planning on trying to corner me into having the counterpart to whatever conversation it was Clark and Jonathan were having.
I hoped not. I didn't really want to deal with that. Martha was wonderful but still too perceptive for my good. She knew, I was sure, that things were better between us but I was also sure that she knew that things weren't... where they should be for a happily married couple. I had no desire to try to deflect those questions.
I punched my code into the keypad next to the door and went back to our room. I slid back under the covers and 'accidentally' left one of the extra pillows in the middle of the bed – a sure sign that I didn't want Clark anywhere near me in the middle of the night. He did it from time to time too, I was sure, though I'd never actually seen him. It wasn't *always* me that moved the pillow there. I curled up with the body pillow and sighed.
I reached down and tugged the covers over me.
One year down.
Four to go.
*~*78*~*
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
"Hey, little man," I said quietly as I picked him up out of his crib. "What do you say we let your mom sleep?"
Christopher had been weaning himself and now, two days after his birthday, only nursed right before bed and sometimes first thing in the morning.
I knew she hadn't slept well the night before, so I figured she'd enjoy sleeping in.
We made it downstairs a few minutes later and I fixed him a bottle of milk before starting on pancakes – his new favorite.
As the first cakes were coming off the griddle, Dad wandered into the kitchen.
"I thought I smelled something good," he said, inhaling deeply.
"Pancakes coming right up," I told him.
"What on our agenda for today?" he asked sitting on one of the bar stools.
I shrugged. "Lois has to work in a few hours, but the C-man and I are hanging out here all day. What about Mom and Granny?"
He rolled his eyes. "They were saying something about an antique shop and an outlet mall."
I winced on his behalf. "They should ask Vicki. She knows some great places. How's your back doing?" I asked suddenly.
He shrugged. "Good as new. Why?"
"Would you like to go for a hike in the New Troy National Forest? The property backs up to it and there's a great trail we can hit not too far from the barn. It goes to this amazing lake. It's a bit of a walk but it's not a hard one." I grinned at him. "We could even take a fishing pole or two."
"Really?" His eyes lit up.
I laughed. "I honestly have no idea if there's any fish or if you're even allowed to fish there if there are. I just wanted to see that face." I set a plate of pancakes in front of him as he mumbled something about sending me back to Krypton and I laughed again.
"Well, if it's not a difficult hike, I should be okay," Dad continued louder.
I shook my head. "It's not. More of a walk really. We could take a lunch and I've got a backpack thing for Christopher."
"Sounds good to me."
"What sounds good to you?" Mom asked walking in, standing behind him and wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his back.
So that's what Dad had been talking about.
Dad filled her in on our newly-made plans for the day.
She rested her chin on his shoulder. "Fine with me as long as I get some pancakes."
I set a plate in front of the seat next to Dad.
"Where's Lois?" she asked, climbing onto the stool.
"She didn't sleep well so me and Christopher decided to let her sleep."
"You didn't have to do that," came a yawn filled voice.
I looked over to see Lois walking into the room.
"Where's coffee?" she asked running her hands through her hair.
I laughed and fixed her a cup just the way she liked it. "Here. You should have slept longer."
She shook her head. "I got called in early. I have to leave in like an hour."
I looked her up and down, one eyebrow cocked. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing an old T-shirt and a pair of shorts that had seen better days. "You better get a move on, Captain Hairdo."
She glared at me as she took a long sip of coffee.
I flipped a couple more pancakes over. "Breakfast?"
She nodded and went to sit by my mom after stopping to give Christopher a kiss.
We chatted for a while as we ate breakfast before Lois headed upstairs to take a shower and get ready for work. I made some sandwiches and packed a bag with diapers and wipes and a blanket before I went upstairs to get Christopher changed and ready to go. I needed to get dressed, too, and find the carrier for him.
I walked into our room and stopped in my tracks.
Lois was walking from the bathroom to the closet, with only a short towel wrapped around her. Her eyes were wide and her arms automatically wrapped around her.
I averted my eyes. "Sorry."
She kept walking towards the closet. "I didn't expect you two back so soon."
I headed towards Christopher's room. "We both need to get ready to go for a walk to that lake with my dad."
"Have fun," she called.
"We will," I promised.
~~~~~
Lois
~~~~~
I pulled into the Daily Planet parking garage and headed for the elevator. I hoped Billy and Serena would have something for me to do instead of being stuck in my cubicle all day.
They did and before I knew it, lunch had rolled around.
"You coming?" Jimmy asked.
"Where are we going today?" I grabbed my purse and headed towards the elevator with him.
"How about that new deli on 8th?"
"Sounds good to me." We headed out the front door of the Planet and around the corner. "Shoot." I stopped in my tracks and checked my wallet. "I need to stop at the bank."
"I got it," he answered, pulling out his wallet to check his cash status. "No," he sighed. "I don't. Bank, then deli."
The line for the ATM was several people deep, but there was next to no one inside so we went in.
"Everybody down!"
We all turned in unison to see men in masks, guns drawn.
I shared a look with Jimmy, but decided this probably wasn't the time to play hero.
I'd managed to slip my wedding band off as they started taking wallets and jewelry from the bank employees and had slid it into my shirt, hoping it would catch in my bra and not clatter to the floor if they made me stand up.
I thought about activating the emergency signal on my watch, but decided that the situation didn't call for it. Not yet anyway. We weren't in any immediate danger and if I sounded the signal, it could become a hostage situation and none of us wanted that, I was sure. Besides, the signal was mainly for Navance related emergencies.
Clark would hear it – even from NTNF, I was sure – and would come flying. And that could be dangerous on several levels.
We all did as we were told and five minutes later, they were gone.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat up, digging into my blouse for my ring and slipping it back on my finger. It amazed me how naked I felt without it, even for those few minutes.
Jimmy and I spent an hour talking to the police and then Eduardo – one of the city reporters who had shown up to cover the story for the Planet. Jimmy was sure Perry would be ecstatic to have firsthand accounts of the robbery.
As much as I wanted to get the attention of the venerable Perry White, I wasn't sure I wanted my name in the news. I sighed and realized I needed to ask Eduardo to try to keep my name out of the story. Any digging into me would bring Christopher to the forefront and I couldn't let that happen.
"Mr. Friaz?"
He didn't move, but continued scribbling in his notepad.
"Eduardo?"
He looked up. "Yes? Lois, right?" He looked at his paper to confirm that.
I nodded. "Listen, I don't mind telling my story, but is there any way to keep my name out of it?"
His brow furrowed. "I suppose it's possible, though your name will be a matter of public record in the police report and stuff."
"I know, but there's a lot of reasons why I'd like to keep my name out of the media right now."
He shrugged. "Okay. I'll make you an unnamed female. How's that?"
"Thank you."
Jimmy put an arm around me as I started to decompress. "You okay?" he asked quietly.
I rested my head on his shoulder. "Yeah. Just wondering why these things happen to me."
"Because no one else could handle them. The criminal world will shake in its boots when Lois Kent makes it to the big time."
I smiled, just a bit. "Something like that anyway."
"Ready to go get that bite to eat?"
I nodded.
"Eduardo!" he called. "Would you let Perry and Rehalia know that we're grabbing a bite to eat but we'll be back before long?"
Eduardo nodded and waved us off.
"We could have called, you know," I told him.
"Yeah, but then we'd be guilted into getting back sooner than we'd like. We still have about fifty minutes of our hour long lunch break. We were on a story," he finished glibly.
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. That's it."
~~~~~
Clark
~~~~~
"This is beautiful," Dad said, looking over the lake.
"Isn't it? Lois and I have been up here a couple times on dates. We've ridden twice and walked once, I think." I spread the blanket out on the grass and then carefully removed the harness holding Christopher in place. He'd jabbered the whole way. I'd thought he'd doze off but he hadn't. I was sure he would on the way back.
I set him in the middle of the blanket, knowing he'd be off it like a shot. Sure enough, Dad was chasing him around within a few seconds.
I laughed as I unloaded the sandwiches and drinks. "You have to watch him like a hawk."
A few minutes later, I was stretched out on the blanket feeding Christopher bits of deli meat and cheese, eating my sandwich in between bites. We looked over at the trail as we heard voices heading our direction.
I let out a breath as I recognized the first person to come into view.
"You know them?" Dad asked quietly.
"That's Joe," I responded in like tones. "Lois' ex-boyfriend. I haven't seen him, except from a distance, since right after we got married."
"Clark?" Joe stopped short, the young woman behind him almost running into him when he did.
"Hey, Joe," I said, sitting up. "How've you been?"
"Good." He turned and took the hand of the young woman. "This is my girlfriend, Debbie. Debbie, this is Clark Kent..."
"Lois' husband?" she asked in shock.
I stood up, brushing my hands on my jeans. "That's right. It's nice to meet you." I held out my hand and she shook it.
"Same here. Joe's told me some about you. I went to high school with Lois."
"Another Lincoln High survivor, huh?"
She smiled at me. "Yep. How is she?"
"She's good," I told her. "She's working today." I turned. "I'm sorry. This is my dad, Jonathan Kent. Dad, this is Joe and Debbie."
Dad had one hand firmly on Christopher's ankle as he tried to get to my water bottle. I shook my head as I scooped my son up. Dad stood and shook hands with both of them.
"Who's this little guy?" Debbie asked.
"This is Christopher," I told her.
"Lois' son," Joe said quietly. "He looks just like you."
"He talks just like Lois," I said, deflecting the comment. "A mile a minute."
As though to prove me right, he started jabbering, smacking me in the face with flailing arms as he did.
Debbie laughed. "May I?" she asked holding out her arms.
Christopher dove for her.
"I guess so," I laughed.
She talked quietly to him, walking towards the lake. Dad kept an eye on them, I noticed. Joe moved closer to me.
"How is Lois? Really?"
"She's good. Really."
"And you're taking care of her?" He crossed his arms in front of him.
"I'm doing my best," I told him honestly. "I don't want to hurt her any more than you do."
"I haven't seen her in a long time. Just walking around campus a time or two but that's it."
"She's a great mom," I said, watching Debbie walk with Christopher. "She loves him so much."
"I'm sure she is. I heard you guys are living with Sam."
I nodded. "He said we could live with him while we're in college. He even hired a nanny for us so we can go to school and work."
"Jess, right?"
"Yeah."
"I know her sister."
"That's right. Lois told me that her little sister was a friend of hers from high school."
"Take care of her, Clark," Joe said quietly. "I'll still beat the stuffing out of you if you don't."
"I know."
"Uh, Clark," Debbie called, heading back our way.
"Yeah?"
"I think someone is in dire need of a diaper change and that's all you."
I reached for him and he came willingly. My sensitive nose had already confirmed her statement. "Come on, big guy. Let's clean you up." I looked back at them. "Would you two like to join us?"
Joe shook his head as Debbie took his hand. "No, but thanks."
"Well, then." I smiled at both of them. "It was nice to meet you, Debbie. Good to see you again, Joe."
"Likewise, Kent."
Debbie smiled at my dad. "It was nice to meet you, Mr. Kent."
Dad waved at them as they walked off. "They seem nice enough," he said when they were out of earshot.
"I think Lois hurt Joe pretty badly when we got married," I told him, setting Christopher on the blanket and pulling out his cow keys to try to keep him occupied while I changed his diaper. "They'd been on-again, off-again since they were sixteen and were about to try again – seriously – when we were in Europe. She was afraid that he was going to be mad, because the two of them had never..." I sighed. "She'd always refused to have sex with him while they weren't a serious couple and then to find out she was pregnant... She was afraid he'd be mad and hate her."
"Did he?"
I shook my head as I snapped Christopher's outfit back into place. "No. He understood then offered to marry her because he didn't think I'd take responsibility or at least that I wouldn't marry her. She hadn't told him yet that I already had. I was telling Lana at the time and I ran into him downstairs when I left. He told me I'd better take care of her or else I'd have to answer to him."
"Why didn't the two of you tell them together?" Dad asked.
I looked up at him.
"What?" he asked, defensive.
I shrugged. "I don't think it occurred to either of us. I talked to Lana and she talked to Joe at the same time." That might have been a smarter idea, but it was way too late for that.
We spent another hour at the lake before deciding it was time to head back.
Christopher slept the whole way.
*****
TBC
